Charles Manson Is Reportedly Just About Dead

Charles Manson has reportedly been transferred from his prison cell to a hospital in Bakersfield, Calif., where he's said to have little hope of recovery from an undisclosed ailment.

The Los Angeles Times reports that a representative for the county sheriff's department has confirmed Manson's hospitalization, but declined to offer further details. A spokesperson for the state Department of Corrections, citing a policy against "commenting on protected health information for any inmate in our custody," also refused to volunteer specifics of Manson's condition.

As previously reported, Manson — who is several decades into a life sentence incurred after his role in a wave of killings he claimed the Beatles' White Album inspired him to mastermind — was rushed to the hospital earlier this year, only to be returned to prison without surgery when doctors reportedly determined he wasn't well enough to survive the procedure.

Now, according to TMZ, Manson's health has deteriorated to the point where he's essentially on a death watch. Although doctors at the hospital have performed "various treatments" on the 83-year-old inmate, they aren't expected to turn his condition around. "It's not going to get any better for him," the tabloid network's source is quoted as saying. "It's just a matter of time."

As the Times' report notes, Manson was initially sentenced to death when he was convicted in 1971, but a law passed the following year rendered California's death penalty unconstitutional and converted the terms of his sentence to life with the possibility of parole. He's since been denied parole a dozen times.